Oiling device



March 30, 1937.

F. MASON OILING' DEVICE Filed Aug. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 30, 1937. F ASON 2,075,532

OILING DEVICE Filed Aug. 4, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 In V6)? for 5a a k Mason 64 Afforn 63y Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES zszsssz PATENT OFFlQE OILING DEVICE fornia Application August 4, 1930, Serial No. 473,074

Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic device for constantly lubricating the long vertical shaft that operates the pump in deep wells.

Pump shafts for deep well pumps are now quite 5 generally rotated by means of a source of motion, such as a vertical motor secured to the pump shafts at the top of the well. These motors, being easily accessible, can have their bearings readily supplied with oil; however, the pump shafts cannot be so readily treated as they extend quite deep into earth bores. Various means have been utilized to obtain well lubricate-d shafts during operation, but these have met with little or no success. The most common practice has been to pass oil continuously down along the shafts. This, as is quite apparent, is not practicable as the oil thus supplied passed through into the bottom of the well, and was wasted during periods of inaction of the pumps. It is possible to 2 lubricate the shafts only when the pumps are operating, by means of a manually operated oil dripper; however, such a practice places too much reliance on the human element and gives no assurance of the continuous lubrication of the shafts during operation of the pumps.

Motors of the above mentioned type are quite generally built with reservoirs, for oil, about the main bearings positioned at the top or top and bottom of the motor. It is therefore an object of 30 this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive device that can be arranged with the reservoirs, to pass oil to the shafts continuously while the pumps are in operation.

It is a further object of this invention to so 0 arrange the above mentioned device that the supply of oil to the shafts, takes place without the interposition of manual aid, and only when the pumps are operating.

My invention possesses many other advantages,

40 and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of several embodiments of my invention. For this purpose I have shown a few forms in the drawings accompanying and formingpart of the present 45 specification. I shall now proceed to describe these forms in detail, which illustrate the general principles of my invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of my 50 invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a section view of a pump head and electric motor embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a 55 modified embodiment of my invention, and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thereof taken along the plane 33 of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a rotatable shaft I!) which extends downwardly into an earth bore and is guided by a series of bearing bushings I I, 5 secured to the inside of a pipe casing 12. Only a part of the bushing H is shown, but it is to be understood that there are a number of such bushings spaced axially throughout the length of the depending casing l2. A pump head structure l3 l0 and a discharge opening I4 is provided for the passage through and egress of the liquid pumped from the bore.

This pump head structure l3 can conveniently serve to support a vertical motor structure l5 as 15 by a flange l6 and a bolt i'l screw threaded through the flange and the lower end of the motor structure !5. It can also support the easing l2, as by the aid of a hub 58, and a collar or nut l9 threaded to the top of casing I2.

This invention is not limited to any details of construction of any specific type of motor structure and hence the structure will be only generally referred to. It comprises a three part frame, including a base section 20, an intermediate section 2| and a top section 22. The top section 22 carries a cover 23 of bell form to protect the parts constituting the motor, whenexposed. The motor windings are shown as supported respectively in section 2! and on a rotatable sleeve 24. The stator windings 25 are appropriately supported in laminations 23 in section 2|; and the rotor includes the lamin'ations 21 keyed to sleeve 24 as at 28.

In the present arrangement, shaft I0 is axially adjustable in sleeve 2d in which it is located, as by being threaded at its upper end. A nut 29 engages these threads and can be fastened to a member 30 as by a bolt 3!. This member is keyed to shaft l0 and is dowelled as by pins 32 to a flange 33. This flange is keyed to sleeve 24, and is held tightly in place by means of clamp nuts 34.

The upper section 22 of the motor frame has a horizontal ilnage 35 provided with a central hub 36 that is concentric with and spaced from the sleeve 24. Supported on flange 35 is a ring support 36 for accommodating the outer stationary race 31 of a ball bearing 38. The inner race 39 is fastened on a depending ring 40 of flange 33, and is held tight against a shoulder 5 on ring 40 by means of a fluid discharging member 51 threaded on the ring. This member embodies a novel construction, the details of which and the purpose thereof will hereinafter be explained. v 55 In order to provide an oil reservoir for maintaining oil around the ball bearing 38, I secure a tube 4| into hub 36 and extending upwardly into a circular aperture 42 in ring 40 to a height about the level of the oil to be maintained in the reservoir. Thus oil can be supplied to a space or reservoir defined in general by the tube 4| and the outer wall 43 of the race support 31. An oil pipe 44 can be used to supply oil to the space, through appropriate passageways leading into the oil reservoir.

At the lower end of motor l5, another ball bear-.

ing such as 45, can be provided. The stationary race 46 is supported in a tubular member 4'! shown as formed integrally with the flange 48 that extends across the bottom frame section 28. The inner race 49 is keyed to the sleeve 24 and rotates therewith. A member 50 overlies the upper edge of the member 41 so as to prevent any oil from spattering out and a bolt 5| extending through the lower portion of the member 4'! and screw threaded into member 58; this provides a means for keeping the parts in the assembled position.

In this case, an oil or grease space or reservoir is formed by the tubular member 41, a hub 52 integral with the flange 48, and the member 58. An oil inlet pipe 53 can be used to supply oil to this reservoir. It will be noted, that the sleeve 24 extends below the hub 52 and therefore provides a means for preventing the escape of the oil from the reservoir along the shaft In.

My device is so arranged that the rotation of shaft will serve to secure a supply of oil by means of gravity into the top of casing l2, where it will distribute itself to the various bearing sleeves such as H. I utilize gravity for this oil feed through the medium of a pipe connection 54 extending to the top of casing I2, and including a manually set regulating valve 55 for con trolling the rate of flow when conduit 58 is opened by the action of the motor in a manner to be described. To produce the oil flow I utilize a valve structure leading into the oil reservoir and so arrange the tube that it is normally closed when the pump is not operating, but which is open for at least part of the time when the shaft l8 rotates. This valve structure is preferably such that centrifugal force imparted to the oil by the motion of the rotating shaft I8 serves to impart momentum to the oil to move a valve closure beyond the opening 58 to permit the passage of oil therethrough and which is returned to its normal position as soon as the motion ceases, as by means of a spring.

In order to accomplish this, I provide an oil valve structure comprising a conduit 59 one end of which is threaded into the ring 36 at a point adjacent the lower end of the oil reservoir. A passageway 68, formed in the ring 36, connects the oil reservoir with the conduit 59. To the other end of the conduit 59 a T member 6| is so threaded that the leg thereof extends downwardly to provide a means for connecting a conduit 62 with the regulating valve 55. It is now apparent that a passageway exists between the oil reservoir and the valve 55 through the medium of conduit 59, passageway 63 in one arm of the T member 6 I, passageway 58, and conduit 62. The passageway is interrupted by means of a ball valve or closure member 64 forced against the valve seat formed by the opening 63, by a spring 65 acting against a plug 65 threaded into the other arm of the T member 6|.

The fluid discharging member has a series 75 of spaced L-shaped openings 61 forming a passageway between the upper surface thereof and its outer periphery. It will be noted from the drawings that the outer periphery of the member 51 is closely adjacent the inner edge of the ring member 36, and consequently the passage way 68, and that the top surface of the member is Well below the oil level of the reservoir so that the L-shaped passageway 61 is continually filled with oil. When the member moves circularly in the oil reservoir due to the rotation of the shaft l8 and its associated parts, the oil in the passageways 67 is shot outwardly due to the centrifugal motion set up by the whirling nut member. Due to the close peripheral relation of the inner and outer peripheries of the members 36 and 57 respectively, the oil in each passageway 61 is forced into the passageway 68 when the passageways become aligned, and produces a force sufficient to move the closure member 64 away from its valve seat and thus permits oil to flow to the regulating valve 55.

The operation of the device is readily apparent from the foregoing. While the pump is inactive, the ball 65 interrupts the flow of oil to the casing 52. When the shaft l9 rotates, the ball 64 moves against the action of spring 65, and permits a gravity flow of oil from the oil reservoir. When the shaft in ceases to rotate the ball is seated on its valve seat by reason of the action of the spring against it. If for any reason, it is desired to interrupt the oil fiow permanently, as when repairs or removal are needed, valve 55 can be manipulated to accomplish this result. Although I have described my device as attached to the upper reservoir, it might be readily attached to the lower one with equal results.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3, I disclose a modification of the valve means for oiling the bushings about the shaft. In this form, the top frame section of the motor carries a flange 68 forming the bottom of a reservoir. The outer wall of the reservoir, as before, can be formed by the support 69 of the stationary race 70, and by the tube H projecting into the depending flange 12 of the rotating ball race support 13 in a manner as hereinbefore described. It will be noted herein, that the inner rotating race M is maintained on the flange 12 by means of friction, and that the omission of the fluid discharging member 51 causes a chamber to be formed by the walls of the inner and outer races, the member 69, and the tube 1|.

A conduit 16 is threaded into the support 69 and is in communication with the chamber '15 through the intermediary of a passageway 11. The leg I8 of a T member 19 is threaded to the other end of the conduit 16 so that the arms of the T member extend parallel to the shaft I0. A valve opening 80 extends through the arm 8|, and the upper portion thereof forms a valve seat for a valve closure member 82. A stem 82 is connected to the closure member 82 and is threaded through the other arm of the member 19. The closure member 82 is adjustable towards and away from the valve seat by means of a knob 83 formed integral with the stem 82', for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A conduit 84 leading to the bushings is connected to the arm 3| by means of a nipple 85.

The conduit 16 is formed with a constriction 86 which defines a narrow passageway 81. One end of this passageway 81 forms a valve seat for a valve closure member 88. One end of a stem 88' is connected to the closure member 88, and the other end is secured to the arm 90 of a bell crank lever 89. The bell crank lever is pivoted to a stub post 9| formed in the chamber 15. A blade of paddle 93 is secured to the arm 92 of the bell crank lever, and extends substantially radially of the shaft ID.

The operation of this valve is now readily ap-- parent from the foregoing. When the pump is in operation the shaft [0 rotates and causes the oil in the chamber 15 to rotate therewith. The pres 10 sure of the rotating oil striking against the paddle 93, causes the bell crank lever 92 to swing about the pivot in a clockwise direction. The movement of the arm 90 brought about by the swinging of the lever, acts on the stem 88 and pulls the valve closure member 88 away from its seat and in this manner permits the oil from the chamber 15 to flow through the conduit 16 and by means of gravity to the bushings in a manner hereinbefore described. The flange 12 may, if

20 desired, be provided with a number of paddles 94 to agitate and to increase the swirling action of the oil in the reservoir 15.

There is a distinct advantage in this type of oiler as it is possible by means of the valve 55 or the valve in the T member 19 to permit a light flow of oil to lubricate the bushings when the shaft is not rotating. This assures the constant lubrication of the shaft and thus prevents any rusting thereon.

I claim:

1. In a device for supplying lubricant to bearings from a reservoir associated with a shaft rotating in said reservoir and above the bearings, a conduit between the reservoir and the bearings,

a valve mechanism in said conduit, said valve mechanism including means for preventing passage of lubricant through the conduit, while the shaft is stationary, and movable means in said reservoir, in the path of rotation of a fluid therein to open the valve to establish communication between the reservoir and the bearings.

2. In a device for supplying lubricant to bearings from a reservoir associated with a rotatable shaft and above the bearings, a conduit establishing communication with the reservoir and a conduit leading to the bearings, a valve mechanism in said first named conduit, and a means in said reservoir responsive to pressure set up by the rotation of a fluid therein whereby the valve is opened to establish communication between the reservoir and said second named conduit, said means comprising a lever and a paddle secured thereto, said paddle being in the path of movement of the fluid.

3. In a device for supplying lubricant to bearings from a reservoir associated with a rotatable shaft and above the bearings, a conduit establishing communication with the reservoir and a conduit leading to the bearings, a valve mechanism in said first named conduit, and a means in said reservoir responsive to pressure set up by the rotation of a fluid therein whereby the valve is opened to establish communication between the reservoir and said second named conduit, said means comprising a bell crank lever having one arm secured to said valve mechanism and a paddle secured to the other arm.

4. In a device for supplying lubricant to bearings from a reservoir associated with a rotatable shaft and above the bearings, a conduit establishing communication with the reservoir and a conduit leading to the bearings, a valve mechanism in said first named conduit, and a means in said reservoir responsive to pressure set up by the rotation of a fluid therein whereby the valve is opened to establish communication between the reservoir and said second named conduit, said means comprising a bell crank lever having one arm secured to said valve mechanism, and a paddle substantially radially secured to the other arm.

5. In a device for supplying lubricant to a bearing from a reservoir associated with a rotatable shaft and above the bearing, a conduit between the reservoir and the bearing, a valve in the conduit and external of said reservoir, said valve having an orifice and a closure means for said orifice, a resilient force exerting member for actuating said closure means to maintain said valve in a closed position while the shaft is stationary to prevent lubricant from passing by gravity through the conduit from the reservoir to the bearing, means cooperating with the shaft for producing a rotation of the lubricant within said reservoir when the shaft is rotated, means for deflecting the moving lubricant from its path of motion, and means actuated by the force exerted by the moving lubricant on said deflecting means for removing said closure means from said orifice to maintain said valve open during the rotation of said shaft.

FRANK MASON. 

